ABSTRACT
Data in 2005 showed that there were 145,290 estimated new cases of colon and rectal carcinomas in the United States, and of these, 40,340 (28%) were carcinomas of the rectum. Of this 56,290 (combined colon and rectum) will die, a death rate of 39%. In the United States, between 1991 and 2001, the death rate from carcinoma of colon and rectum has improved by 5% in men, and 4% in women (1).
